Significant Aspects of Examination Reforms in the Higher Education System in India

Education has all along been and continues to be an amalgam of teaching and testing enterprises. Testing is mainly done through 'continuous evaluation' or a 'fixed point examination'. Examinations acted as motivators and stimulators for both the teachers and scholars, but over a period of time they have become indispensable and have dominated the system in India. Instead of becoming the means to provide the right type of education, they have become an end in themselves, with the job seekers devising ways of obtaining certificate without putting in hard work. Therefore, any move for a change in curriculum, teaching methods and evaluation practices are met with resistance. Our present examination system is a legacy of the colonial rule where importance is being placed on passing examinations and acquiring status, while practical training for life and work is ignored. That we need to assess the child is unquestionable and that students should be able to express and explain what they have learnt is indisputable but the question is how useful are examinations anyway? Does the current assessment system provide the necessary space for learning? With these considerations, the issue of examination reforms has become a matter of serious discussion in the academic circles and amongst the policy makers. Over the past many years, the University Grants Commission and the Ministry of Human Resource Development has introduced many examination reforms to (i) undo the dominance of conventional examination pattern and; (ii) improve the quality of examination with a view to making them valid and reliable. There is a strong case for introducing and implementing examination reforms earnestly. The present paper attempts to throw light on the significant aspects of examination reforms in the higher education system. The paper gives an account of the key concerns of the examination system in higher education in India highlighting its drawbacks and lists the reforms introduced in the examination system. The last section includes recommendations for successful implementation of these reforms.